363 Instagram Dog Hashtags

Dog Hashtags to use on Instagram to increase your engagement and organically grow your account

Knowing how to find the top instagram hashtags for your dogs will help get your post more reach, likes, comments, and shares. Here we share the system we use to grow our Instagram account @maggielovesorbit which currently has over 130,000 followers.

My formula is: One unique hashtag #thathasnevereverbeenusedbeforethatyoumadeupforthatpost. Then find ten popular hashtags general to the niche. So it would be entering #dogsofinstagram in Display Purposes and moving the slider so that you only get ten delivered back to you. Last add eighteen hashtags that are very specific to your dog. So enter in your breed name into Display Purposes and move the slider so that you only get eighteen delivered back to you.

I only use twenty nine in a post because sometimes I like to add another hashtag after I’ve uploaded the post and commented with the hashtags.

Having the right set of hashtag paired with magnetic amazing content has the chance to make your posts go viral as in the example below.

I’ve been on Instagram for over three years. My dog’s account @maggielovesorbit has grown to over 130,000 followers. @barkcommunity is now over 70,000 followers.And I have over 20 other accounts I manage for clients.

I would like to claim that I have hashtag mastery but that would be misleading. What I do have is a experience in learning how to find the best sets. You see things constantly change and you have to keep pivoting in how you find the right sets of hashtags. Also visual Artificial Intelligence has come and Instagram’s computer is actually able to read photos pixel by pixel so working on your ability to capture a photo that tells a visual story carries weight. And as Visual AI gets better … hashtags may not even be as relevant.

But we’re not 100% there yet and if hashtags can nudge your photo at least a little in the right direction then in this post I will share formula’s that I’ve used to grow my various Instagram accounts.

In Case You’re a Beginner and Need This Info. Hashtags on Instagram are:

What are hashtags?

Hashtags categorize content. When you click on a hashtag you’ll be able to see how many photos have been tagged with that hashtag. Conversely, when you use it you will be discoverable by other Instagram users searching for that hashtag.

Why should you use hashtags?

The right combination of hashtags will expose your account to other Instagram users.

How many hashtags can you use?

You can use up to 30 hashtags on Instagram and we recommend you use at least 12, and up to 30 when possible.

How do you insert it into a post?

Everyone has their own style. For me … I typically will use 3 to 7 hashtags in the original post. And then I will add a comment with the remainder of the hashtags. This is simply for aesthetics and a visual preference. I like to keep my original caption as clean as possible.

Beginner strategy would look like this:

How do I decide on the right hashtags?

1. I looked at what my favorite friend’s accounts were using.

When I first started, I just simply copied what my favorite accounts were using.

2. I look at related hashtags.

Click on the magnifying glass icon and in the search field … enter in your desired hash tag. When that comes up – take a look at the other “related hashtags” that Instagram suggests explore those photos if they are relevant. For example if you put in #crazydogmom you’ll find other related hashtags. Or right now I’m really into the #adventuredogs so I love looking at related photos of dogs that hike or dogs that camp etc.

3. Look to see how many people have used that hashtags.

For the most part I choose hashtags that have been used at least 5,000 times up to 300,000 times. The exception is when I will just make up my own hashtags (for fun) to add to my content.

4. Mix up the type of hashtags.

So I typically select hashtags on a general “dog” theme, or “silly dog” or “crazy dog mom” or “outdoor dog” theme. It all depends on the post. And then I make sure I have a few tags related to the breed of my dog. And sometimes I will use a very general hashtag to express an emotion such as #aww or #loveher or #mmmhmm. When it’s relevant I may use a location hashtag such as #sandiegodog or #visitSD

5. Mix up the sets you use.

I don’t use the same set everyday. I mix it up throughout the week and try to match the set when relevant, to the theme of that set.

Hashtag Strategy: Look for hashtags that have low density in use but high levels of engagement

LOOK FOR HASHTAGS THAT HAVE LOW DENSITY USE + HIGH ENGAGEMENT.

In regarding to finding out which hashtags to use, there’s a technique I use in my guide in finding the hashtags that get the lowest # of posts uploaded per hour but the highest number of engagement. You can roughly figure this out by looking at a particular hashtag to see how many posts are uploaded per hour. I also use a services from smaudience.com.

LOOK FOR HASHTAGS THAT SMALLER THAN YOUR AVERAGE LIKES:

Another way to select your hashtags is look at the top 9 and see what the highest # of engagement is for that hashtag. If you’re averaging higher in average posts, and that hashtag has low density (as in posts uploaded per hour) then it’s a good one to add to your list. So let’s say you look at the top 9 and the highest # of likes in that hashtag is 400 but your average # of likes is 700 … then this is a hashtag you might want to utilize.

USE DISPLAY PURPOSES:

I use the website Display Purposes but there’s a small trick in how to use it. a) Go to that link above – and set your settings to “infinity”. Enter in one hashtag like #dogsofinstagram b) You’ll get approximately 35+ hashtags. COPY AND PASTE ALL 30 back into the black search bar. You’ll end up with about 180+ hashtags c) Copy and past all 180+ hashtags into the search bar (less any that don’t apply) and you’ll get about 500+ hashtags. d) Now you have over 500 to utilize. I try to use different “sets” with every post. e) The other thing you can do at this point… is slide the slider down to 30 and it will give you the best 30 out of the hashtags that are possible.

ENGAGE WITH POPULAR HASHTAGS – CHANCES ARE YOU’LL BE THE ONLY ONE COMMENTING IF THEY DON’T HAVE THAT MANY LIKES AND COMMENTS.

Lastly the other way I use hashtags is to select who to engage with. Hashtags are like search words in google. But this time I might choose a specific interest …. or select a VERY POPULAR hashtag (I know this goes against what you might think) but people who use the hashtag “puppy” as an example are most likely new to Instagram. And don’t know that there are literally thousands of photos uploaded to that hashtag per hour. However … if you’re the only one that actually leaves a comment on their photo, then you stand out to that person. Only do this if you’re truly interested in that account and photo!

Where to place the hashtags? In the caption or the comments?

It does not matter as long as you add the hashtags in the first 15 seconds after you create the post.

All of the accounts I have and all of the accounts that belong to our clients post the hashtags in the comments. And you can see below an example of a post doing phenomenally well because it hit explore.

Keep in mind a post does not exist on hashtags alone. No combination of the best hashtags will ever get your post to the explore feed if your photo or video is horrible or not compelling.

How many hashtags should I use?

There are various recommendations going around to use “five” but I have not found that to be the case. As I mentioned hashtags carry less weight (between 2 and 10%) so feel free to use up to 30 hashtags. We always use the maximum number of hashtags and in our test cases less hashtags doesn’t get better engagement.

Remember to keep it a two sided conversation. Hashtags work best if you actually engage in them too. So that means when someone comments on your photo. You should comment back even if it’s just an emoji. Also explore the hashtags you use and comment on photos that resonate to you. Typically most of your Furriends use some of a combination of similar hashtags already. Where do I store my hashtags? I have an iphone so I keep them on my notepad. And then I simply copy and paste the set I want to use.

Since we’ve been on Instagram for over a year… I have several sets of hashtags which I am sharing below.

One final note. Be sure the hashtags fit the story you are sharing about your life with your dog. These are mine that I use which I am sharing which tell the story of my life with Maggie and Orbit. Hope this helps you out!

Sample hashtags Following are some sets of hashtags I’ve used. Feel free to go through them but take a look and edit out any that do not apply (for example those that are Boston Terrier specific).

Kristin

MaggieLovesOrbit

Thank you for reading. At this point in my business I do have help. The point in mentioning the 20 accounts is that I now have a system that works for multiple accounts. I was always curious if I just got lucky with one but this system of approach works for different kinds of accounts in different niches.

When I first started this endeavor I only had one account and I spent an unhealthy amount of time in Instagram upwards of 8 to 10 hours a day. It was my job/business to figure it out. Then I had 3 accounts sign up and so I had to figure out how to spend less time in the platform but be more strategic with my interactions. As I grew … that time is now down to anywhere from 15 minutes per day per account up to 2 hours. Some accounts might be more that day depending on where it is in it’s growth.

After doing this 3 years from my perspective it’s critical to have laser focus on your goals, strategies and tactics. Spending 8 hours a day isn’t realistic and honestly it doesn’t equate to the results you might think. I could comment and like until my fingers fell off. It still wouldn’t grow your account as fast as having content that hits the explore page.

In terms of time allocation – content creation is where we spend the most time. And then crafting the captions and then hashtags. When you have great content combined with the other two that post has great chances in hitting explore. I shared a few screen shots on our barkcommunity page on IG to show examples of some stats. We have others but you’ll get the idea.

A post that hits explore … or hits the hashtag feed will get you greater reach and more follows than outbound liking/commenting.

Nothing beats content.

System wise – pure analog in the sense each account has a 4×6 index card. That way if I’m working in different places I an bring my notes with me. On it guides me on the top hashtags to engage with. The top 30 to 40 accounts to look at every day either by liking it or commenting.

Deciding who to comment + engage with is understanding where you audience might be congregating. If that are at a particular account then I want to make sure I’m there to by liking/commenting.

Also the other half is knowing who the amplifiers are – I use People Map to analyze other accounts.

We do not use any scheduling platforms – we tried it for two months and felt that we fell out of touch with what was relevant that day. Instagram moves fast we have a framework as to what kind of content should be posted to each account and a library of content we can choose from.

Also …. Instagram is just one part in the overall strategy we’re active Bloggers, use Pinterest, Tumblr, and Twitter as well.